News continues to trickle out of the Obama Transition Team’s office in Illinois regarding officially and unofficially announced Cabinet positions for the Obama administration. Let’s take a look at a breakdown -

It is widely expected that President-Elect Barack Obama will formally ask Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) to accept the role of Secretary of State. Clinton, Obama’s chief rival during the Democratic Primaries for Democratic presidential nomination, brings a lot to the table for the position. Her world-class status as a renowned diplomat and various relations with world leaders will prove important and worthy of the nomination. She has garnered significant influence in the United States Senate despite her relatively short tenure, elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2006. All of this will prove significant to the position. But the rumors surrounding Obama’s nomination of Clinton proves more important than just filling a cabinet seat – it is evidence that President-Elect Obama is trying to begin an era of a new kind of politics, an era not bogged down by partisanship and enemies. Surely in politics, there will be those who disagree with you, politicians from both sides of the political spectrum.

President Abraham Lincoln crowned the tone of argument amongst cabinet members. He welcomed and encouraged arguments amongst his Cabinet, using disagreements as a point-counterpoint measure to gauge effectiveness of policy decisions before taking public action. Historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin argues that Lincoln’s motis operandi of surrounding himself with dissenting opinions to mold public policy consensus is what’s missing from today’s Cabinet and is what this country needs.

And it appears that is what President-Elect Obama is trying to accomplish. Wanting to bring aboard rivals and opponents as well as supporters to the Cabinet will offer a unique perspective into policy making and will shape public policy for the better, especially in such times of economic crisis today.

This is exactly the thinking taking place in Obama’s Secretary of Defense pick. Probable candidate is the current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who was sworn in as the defense secretary in December, 2006, and Obama is expected to ask Gates to stay on as the Pentagon Chief for at least one more year. His resumé includes 27 years of service with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as both an agent and director. His experience in recent years with national security and defense measures as well as ongoing counter-terrorism measures likely tops Obama’s reasoning for his continued service.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner has officially been chosen by President-Elect Obama as the next Secretary of Treasury. Geithner helped manage Wall Street’s financial crisis earlier in the year, overseeing the acquisition of Bear Stearns by the more financially secure JPMorgan Chase, as well as the bailouts of AIG and Lehman Brothers. His experience in working with the United States Treasury Department date back to the late 1980’s, where he held various secretarial positions even beyond the Clinton administration of 1992-2000. He will be heading up the Obama economic advisory committee as the face that sells its ideas to Congress and to the people. He is widely respected amongst his peers and in and around Washington, and should provide the know-how to save this country from the economic crisis it is in today. He will lead an economic team consisting of Lawrence H. Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, Christina D. Romer, Director of the Council of Economic Advisors, Melody C. Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, and Heather A. Higginbottom, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Below, Barack Obama announces his economic team from his Transition Team headquarters in Chicago, Illinois -

The President-Elect is looking to nominate Retired General James L. Jones as the next National Security Advisor. Jones, who served in Vietnam, was named by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as the commander of the U.S. European Command and supreme allied commander of Europe in early 2003.

Democratic Senator Jeff Bingaman looks to be the next Energy Secretary. Bingham currently chairs the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, a committee that oversees U.S. energy policy, a seemingly easy and logical transition for the Senator.

Meanwhile, on the Homeland Security front, Governor Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) is emerging as Obama’s top choice for Secretary of Homeland Security.

Already announced is Robert Gibbs as the Press Secretary. Gibbs, a trusted advisor dating back to Obama’s senatorial bid in 2004, was a senior advisor and communications director for the President-Elect’s presidential campaign.

And lastly for today, the Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (D-IL). A veteran of the Clinton administration, is well known around Washington. Currently the fourth highest ranking member of the United States House of Representatives, Emanuel has been a trusted advisor for Obama throughout his campaign and Senatorial work, and is a appropriate fit for the next administration. I will end this post with a video from 2005, which C-SPAN just re-aired after learning of Emanuel’s appointment to Chief of Staff.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

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